Japan's nuclear restart dreams crack as opposition wins gubernatorial race

Doubts heighten for the country's running reactors.

Sunday's gubernatorial race ended in uncertainty for the nuclear industry in Japan as Satoshi Mitazono, a former TV journalist who ran in Kagoshima Prefecture, took victory.

He has made it clear that he is in favor of shutting down the Sendai nuclear power plant in Southwestern Japan and that he wants another study to probe the facility's location and the active faults that are suspected to lie near it.

He also wanted to have another study done as there are "problems" with the plants' current plants for evacuation in the event of any emergency.

However, an immediate shutdown of plants is not expected as governors lack the legal power to implement this.